The three directors of this year’s annual Student Directed Showcase (SDS), Tina Crnko (12), Sebastian Herscher (12), and Alex Najibi (12) welcomed any and all students to try their hand at acting at performance auditions, held on the lunches of October 10 and 11.

Auditions are held in a comfortable setting: the adorned room of Performing Arts Director and SDS class instructor Laura Lang-Ree. Students who audition are required to perform a monologue from a series of choices, no memorization required.

Over 50 people signed up to audition for the production, ranging from new performers to highly active actors.

Rohit Sandbhadti (12) is a newcomer to the acting sect of the Conservatory and felt fairly nervous for his first-time audition.

“I’ve never done any theater before, so I’m going with the whole ‘senior going out of your comfort zone’ thing,” he said. “I hope to learn a little bit about theater and acting and just get comfortable with things that I’m not comfortable with, like stage fright.”

Sean Knudsen (10), a regular performer, also came out to audition.

“It was comfortable. I feel like everyone did well,” he said. “It’s fun to have student directors direct you … it’s somewhat of a more fun experience.”

Many participants, such as Hannah Prutton (11), enjoy meeting new people the most.

“SDS is really good at including everyone,” she said. “My experience last year was so great because I got to meet people who I don’t usually get to work with in performing arts. It’s just a really great way of meeting the rest of the Harker community.”

Maya Nelson (12), who is greatly involved in the Conservatory and visual arts community, has never been in an on-stage performance before and is looking forward to experiencing all aspects of the performing arts realm.

“I’ve wanted to [perform on stage] for the past three years of my high school career, and now that I’m a senior, I feel like I need to grab this opportunity,” she said. “Theater is the one thing I’ve left out of my high school experience, so this is a good way for me to bring it in.”

Tina was thoroughly impressed by everyone who has auditioned so far.

“This year’s SDS will be phenomenal because of the spectacular performers that took the time to audition,” she said. “That means that as directors, we can afford to make more detailed choices in each of our shows, knowing that each performer is capable of delivering above and beyond what’s expected of them.”

Callbacks will be held on Wednesday October 12 from 4 – 7 PM and the shows will be performed on January 5 and 6.